Part of the Army/Navy Screen Magazine series, this film newsreel
consists of several segments. The first, "Meet a Gyrene from
Guadalcanal" features American Marine Albert A. Schmidt who helped
defend his fellow soldiers while being attacked by Japanese forces on
Guadalcanal, and apparently killed over 200 of the enemy. "They Fly the
Aleutians" shows the activities of the air crews based in the
Andreanofs Islands within striking range of Japanese held Kiska.
Next, a short and funny "Confidential Report to Adolph" introduces a
segment about Radioplane drones. The OQ-2 Radioplane shown was the
first mass-produced UAV or drone in the United States. A follow-on
version, the OQ-3, became the most widely used target aircraft in US
service, with over 9,400 being built during World War II.
The OQ-2 was originally a small radio controlled aircraft model designed
by Walter Righter. The design, along with its engine design, was
purchased by actor Reginald Denny, who had demonstrated another model to
the US Army in 1940. Calling the new design the RP-2, he demonstrated
several updated versions to the Army as the RP-2, RP-3 and RP-4 in 1939.
In 1940, the Army placed an order for 53 RP-4s, designating them the
OQ-1, the OQ meaning a "subscale target". This small order led to a much
bigger 1941 order for the similar RP-5, which became the US Army OQ-2.
The US Navy also bought the drone, designating it TDD-1, for Target
Drone, Denny, 1. Thousands were built, manufactured in a plant at the
Van Nuys Airport in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
It was at this factory on June 26, 1945 that Army photographer David
Conover saw a young woman assembler named Norma Jeane Dougherty, whom he
thought had potential as a model. She was photographed in the plant,
which led to a screen test for Norma Jeane, who soon changed her name to
Marilyn Monroe.
During WWII, Radioplane conducted field tests at the Muroc Dry Lake from
a private airport owned by famed aviatrix Florence "Pancho" Barnes.
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